I'm growing more and more antagonistic towards SYG laws. The sensational cases are glossing over the more practiacl problems that arise when you have a hoard of gang-bangers all claiming the defense. And it strikes me as unsound to encourage armed citizens to posture or insist on their rights to be at a particular place. We don't carry firearms to preserve a right to walk down a sidewalk. And retreat, where possible, is almost always tactically sound. You want to use concealment and cover. You want to avoid the fight. Not puff up the chest and start insisting.
Everyone here would choose retreat when possible. Most people would. But to legislate that it be necessary is a bridge too far, IMO. We cannot and should not legislate morality. Legislation is not the solution for all ills, and certainly not for non-existent "problems" invented by the gun control lobby.
SYG had nothing to do with the Martin/Zimmerman case, and the latter is being used as a launching pad for another push for gun control legislation.
People who do not retreat will have a harder time claiming self defense. SYG is not a get out of jail free card. The shooting has to be justified. You can't just shoot someone and claim that you had a right to be there and no questions will be asked. Zimmerman shot someone as a part of neighborhood watch in a place he had a right to be, and yet he was still prosecuted for murder. He won by jury verdict in the end, but clearly the SYG law did not apply, nor did it protect him from murder charges.
The hype is being overblown. CPL holders don't whip out guns in a show of bravado and machismo. We all know that law-abiding gun owners are a great bunch of people. The stats are there on CPL holders for all to see, and we have the evidence to show that we are not a violent segment of the population. We all view guns as we view seat belts, fire extinguishers, and life insurance policies. We would hope to have them and never need them, but we will not be forced into a situation where we need them and do not have them.
SYG is like telling someone they don't have to flee a burning building. They don't. They're adults. They can make their own decisions at their own risk. They may stay inside trying to fight the fire themselves. Sometimes they may stop the fire. Other times they may die. With SYG, you may be OK, you may get killed, or you may get tried for murder. No one of sound mind and body is eager to test that out, contrary to the media hyperbole that the mere presence of guns turns us all into cowboys in wild west shootouts over parking spaces. Such is the hype with EVERY pro-gun law that is passed. The whole "blood in the streets" and "wild west" analogies run rampant, yet never materialize.
This is no different. Violent crime has been decreasing for decades despite all the hype over mass shootings, SYG, etc. CPL holders remain one of the most law-abiding segments of the population.